Still, he persevered, making a video asking for assistance and sending the clip to The Puppy Rescue Mission, an organization dedicated to reuniting service members with their overseas canine companions.

In just a few hours, Puppy Rescue had raised enough money to bring Lyla over. Michelle Smith, who works for the organization, told CBS-DFW, "It’s such an inspiration to see some of these guys take these animals under their wing and love on them and care enough not to want to leave them behind to die."

It was several months before Burright saw Lyla again, but the connection was still there when they met at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport—as can be seen by Lyla's enthusiastic licking in the above video.